


Close Encounters

by inuoji



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: College AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-05-23 20:14:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6128763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inuoji/pseuds/inuoji
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Han goes outside during a loud party, and foreign exchange student Luke follows him. He's never met a more genuine and captivating person.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

You’d think that a life that had seen me in many such house parties would’ve trained me to come accustomed to noise like this, but you’d be wrong. So much loud noise for so much time, even with - well - so much beer to compensate, still managed to get to me. It was situations like these that would end me up just outside the festivities, finding peace and quiet (and a quick smoke) without so much everything pounding at my head. It wasn’t unusual for other folks to follow me outside, but once I started wandering everyone typically created their own new sound pockets and I’d find myself alone. This is what I expected to happen when I wondered aloud what was beyond this suburban duplex.

“There goes Han again, about to get lost in some forest.” Snickered someone I didn’t recognize.

I scoffed and began strolling away. Such was life. Until I heard the soft fall of footsteps behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see one of the many foreign exchange students, Luke, following me. We had spoken before, and he seemed alright, save for his occasional outbursts and that he didn’t really ever seem to know what to do at parties he attended. I figured he was not unpleasant company, so I said nothing and kept walking.

The back of the duplex was what you might expect in such a neighborhood. No fences, untrimmed grass, and an immediate line of trees and brush that would separate this strip of yards from those of the next cul-de-sac. It was chilly for a late February night, but considering we were in a place that’d never seen snow, it probably would’ve turned out to not be all that cold, had I checked. Still, the kid next to me shivered.

“If you’re cold, you can go back inside, kid.” I was more looking at the stars, than him.

“No, it is too loud! Besides, it snows where I’m from.” He stood a few feet from me and also craned his neck to look at the stars. I don’t know what brought me to keep on the conversation, but I couldn’t think of much beyond the stars above us to talk about.

“I wish I knew more constellations.” I admitted to him, shoving my hands into my jacket pockets.

“Constellations?” He looked at me, puzzled. That’s when I remembered that English wasn’t his first language.

“Oh, uh. That’s what we call the pictures you can make out of stars. You see, like,” it only took me a second to find one of the only two constellations I knew, “The Big Dipper, there. Or Orion, over there. With the three stars as a belt and that one as the end of his sword.”

“Why a belt and sword? I don’t see a belt and sword, it’s just stars.”

“Hey, well! The Big Dipper looks like a spoon, that one makes sense.”

“Yeah? It’s also the Big Bear and Little Bear, right? Where’s the bear? You know! Once, I saw. Uh… How do you call it…?”  
Luke began making sweeping arced gestures with his arms, and kept muttering about stars.

“A shooting star?” I guessed

“No, bigger.”

“The universe?!” I guessed again, flustered this time.

“GEEZ! No, smaller. Like. You are,” He held out his arm horizontally, and gestured to his wrist, “You are this,” he gestured to his elbow, “And you can see this. And they are connected.”

“The Milky Way?!” I almost shouted, it was so silly. He immediately lit up, almost like a star himself, and nodded quickly.

“Yes, the Milky Way. I was once in a pool at night, and you know how the water gets in your ears? I couldn’t hear and I was all,” He began moving as if he were drunk and stumbling,

“You were unbalanced?”

“Nicer than that.”

“You were… floating?”

“Yes! Yes, I was floating." His eyes seemed to glaze over, lost in his memory. He spoke softly, handling his words like they were a priceless treasure. "And above me, all the stars in the Milky Way. I thought I was in space, myself, I’ll never forget it.”

He made no effort to elaborate. His clear, blue eyes just kept looking up at the stars. I’d never felt such a sudden rush of emotion for a person before. He was so precious, and so genuine. If circumstances had been different, I would’ve swept him close and kissed him as softly and sweetly as he had spoken. 

“I, uh,” I brushed my hand into my hair and attempted to avoid eye contact, “I always wished I could’ve been an astronaut.”

“Oh my God!” Luke laughed at that, a bright and pure sound, “I couldn’t! I’d shit my pants!” 

I couldn’t help but laugh with his sudden change of pace. We went inside. And I haven’t stopped thinking about him since.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't until a few weeks later that I got the opportunity to see him again. Or, rather, I saw him every day for a few weeks before I took the opportunity myself. As it turns out, we were in the same arts appreciation class. It was required for freshman, which explained why he was in it, and it was required for graduation, which explained why my junior-level ass was in it. We didn't sit near each other, and it was a giant class, but how I had missed his golden mop bouncing into class every afternoon until now was beyond me. Maybe it was because I was typically late, if I showed up at all. But I digress

The professor had been on for a while before I realized that what she was talking about was actually important to me. Important to my ability to graduate outta this shithole, at least,  
"-and I hope you have all attended the amount of concerts mandatory for passing this class between now and next week, when they are due. Any of the concerts I mentioned earlier are fair game, so long as you bring me your ticket stubs and the program notes, as well as the written requirements, which can be found on the Syllabus..."

She continued on with anecdotes about how people have had As drop to Ds for not attending concerts, and other such threats, but the sinking pit in my stomach was all I really needed. I hadn't attended any concerts at all. I had to attend five between now and next week. Where there even five classical concerts between now and next week? I thought only dinosaurs listened to that stuff, and they probably couldn't leave their homes enough to pay for that many performances. I pulled up the syllabus on my phone and was immediately relieved. Recitals given by the university's music students counted for the requirement. And there were four this week. The fifth concert slot would have to be filled by an off-campus concert, and there was one on Thursday. I could still make it, I'd have to plan now.

The calendar app on my phone was desolate and I wasn't quite privy to all its features, but I knew what had to be done. To the best of my ability, I created events for each of the concerts. The first one was less than an hour after this class ended. I don't even know where the music building IS. Then I realized I was currently holding what is, essentially, a tiny computer, so I just searched for it. 

The campus is arranged like a circle, with a big lawn in the middle, and the music building where the recital was being held was on the opposite side of campus. I’d make it, no problem, so long as I didn’t get distracted. 

The professor was still lecturing, but the clock at the front of the room said class had just ended, so I high-tailed it outta there. I just barely get out of the building before I realize a familiar face is following me at a similar hurried pace, a few feet back. I stopped. 

“Hey, Luke! You headin to that concert, too?”

“Yeah, shit…” his brisk walk didn’t slow, and he passed me where I stopped to call to him, “You better hurry! It’s so soon!”  
“Sheesh…” I knew I was hurrying too, but what had gotten that kid so worked up. Maybe I’ll sit by him in the hall? Shit. I had to make it there first. 

I was so late I might as well have shimmied my way through the door as it dramatically closed on me. The house managers assured me that they’d let me inside after this movement of the work finished, whatever that meant. I stood by the doors and strained my ears to hear what was going on. I had to write a paper about this shit, after all. The program said the music was Schubert’s Symphony No. 6, but it sounded a lotta nothin to me. A whole lotta violins playin music that’d make anyone fall asleep. 

“Sir, you can go in now. If you’re still awake.” The young lady prodding me with a pointed, perfectly manicured finger angrily woke me up from my resting position on the wall. Shit, how long have I been out?

“Uh, thanks…” 

I could hear her scoff behind me as I stolled inside and scanned for a seat. There were a few in the middle, and I began heading to one towards the middle-back, but the orchestra started playing before I could even get close. Hands, probably belonging to that stage manager chick, shoved me down in the closest seat. Looking around at the other concert attendants, I realized I was the worst dressed of the lot- BY a lot. Shit. I tried to slink as far down into my seat as I could, to just wait out the concert until it ended. 

The man next to me roughly shoved my shoulder, and hoisted me to my feet as the audience rose to their feet to applaud. I stumbled more than once and found myself clapping with them, not altogether sure if this was actually happening or not. The angry, disappointed look on his face seemed to scream “real”, so I figured it was real enough. Shit. I had to write a paper on this. I hadn’t heard a single note!

I stumbled out of the hall before the rest of the audience could stop applauding, and yanked an exit ticket off of the table. Damn. How was I going to pull this off? The benches outside the music building looked like a good place to think, so I plopped myself in one of them and pulled out my phone. Who else had been here? I knew Luke was headed here, but I hadn’t seen him in the audience. Maybe he didn’t make it. Shit. I looked up the assignment requirements on the class syllabus. Yep, still there, “One paragraph (each) about the musical elements in the first and last movements of the concert, and one more about a movement or piece of your choosing.” Fucking humanities classes- when the fuck am I going to us-

“Oh! Hey, Han!” 

I won’t say I jumped when he sat down next to me and said my name, but I’d be a damn liar if I said I didn’t react at all.

“Oh, Luke. Shit, sorry, I didn’t notice ya. Didja get into the concert?”

His eyes closed when he laughed. His nose crinkled up a little, too.

“Yes, Han, I got into the concert.” He said it like it was a grand little joke.

“Shit, kid, what’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing. Did you like it? What was your favorite piece?” He leaned in, he really expected a good answer. Shit. I gulped.

“Actually, I, uh. I fell asleep. You wouldn’t be willing to share your musical insights on the-” I read quickly from the assignment description, “melodic and harmonic design, and overall effect, would you?”

As soon as his expression had fallen from hearing my admission, it picked right back up when I asked for his help.

“Yeah, sure. I think the Schubert’s a bit much. The Rossini has some interesting history. Here-” Luke pulled out his phone, “Put your number. You can text me your question.” 

“Hey, thanks. That’s real nice of you.” 

I entered my phone number and name, and he grabbed it back almost as soon as I had hit “save.” A buncha kids all in black walked by and shouted for him to come with them. I guess the kid’s popular…

Five minutes later, I received a text from an unknown number.

_Luke :~)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> self-satisfying classical music AUs are all i can do, thanks


	3. Chapter 3

_Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was an Austrian composer. Though he lived only 32 years, he wrote much music. Symphony No 6 in C-Major is one of his finest works. The piece is a four-movement symphony which features an overture-style first movement, an andante second movement, a scherzo, and a final movement in sonata-rondo form with a codetta. The piece is from the classical era of music and is written in ways typical to that time. The high woodwinds, flute and oboe, are frequently featured. The over piece contains many repeats and abandoned moments of anticipation, making the active listener laugh often. It is a playful piece. ..._

I stared at my computer screen. The English was okay, as one of my classmates assured me many times. I still had another paragraph to write, though! Ugh! I need to send this to Han soon, before he just does the assignment on his own. Maybe, if I wrote something beautiful, he would want to spend more time with me. I tore at my hair a bit, what a stupid thought. 

But I hit “send” anyway.


End file.
